When Willamette Week decided
to award prizes each year to Portlanders under the age of 36 who
perform great service for local nonprofits, we named the award The
Skidmore Prize.

Why? At the west end
of Old Town’s Ankeny Square sits Skidmore Fountain. In September of
1888, when the elegant, European-styled landmark was dedicated, Ankeny
Square was pretty much Portland’s heart. On one side of the fountain are
words full of hope and idealism for this place: “Good citizens,” reads
C.E.S. Wood’s encomium, “are the riches of a city.” Portland knew
then—and knows today—that personal commitment is the key to our
community’s health, livability and vibrancy.

This year all four
Skidmore Prize winners—Stephen Marc Beaudoin of PHAME Academy, Jenn
Cohen of the Circus Project, Ian Mouser of My Voice Music, and Temmecha
Turner of Friends of the Children—thoroughly merit the “Good Citizen”
label. They received their $4,000 prizes, each accompanied by a
certificate, at a celebration at the Davis Street Tavern Tuesday
evening, Nov. 8. The Skidmore Prize Celebration also marks the kickoff
of Willamette Week’s annual Give!Guide, copies of which are inserted in this week’s paper and can be read online at wweek.com/giveguide.

As you’ll see from
the profiles that follow, these four Portlanders build on the examples
set by the 29 previous recipients of this honor. Special thanks are in
order to Davis Wright Tremaine and OakTree Digital for financial support
for the Skidmore Prizes, and to Integra Telecom for helping to fund the
Skidmore Prize Celebration and Give!Guide Kickoff.

Click on a profile below to find more about these special people:

Images by Chris Ryan/Wonderful Machine

How Skidmore Prize Winners are Selected

This year’s committee consisted of two non-WWers—Phoebe
Adams and David Martin—and three employees of this newspaper: Nick
Johnson, Kendra Clune and Richard Meeker. Adams and Martin have long
histories with both the Skidmore Prize and our Give!Guide. G!G Executive
Director Brittany Cornett kept things on track.

We started by
reading all nominating forms and reference documents. We also conducted
separate reference checks of our own, while making sure all nominees
were under the age of 36 and were earning less than $35,000 a year at
the time they were nominated.

We then winnowed the impressive list of nominees to a group of eight, each of whom were interviewed for half an hour or so in Willamette Week’s
offices. Then we made our decision. It was not easy, given the
incredible contributions all the nominees make to the benefit of the
Portland community.

How to Make a Nomination for the 2012 Skidmore Prize

It’s never too early to start thinking about next year.

If you know someone
who is 35 or younger and does amazing work for a Portland-area
nonprofit, you’ve got a candidate for next year’s Skidmore Prize. The
only other requirement is that your prospective nominee earn less than
$35,000 a year and not be a volunteer.

Next July, WW
and wweek.com will be full of announcements inviting you to nominate
your candidate for a 2012 Skidmore Prize. The nomination process is open
all month and easy: Just go to wweek.com/skidmoreprize and fill out the
handy form. We’ll then contact the nominee for further information and
references.

Our rules also allow candidates to nominate themselves.

Photographs of this year’s Skidmore Prize winners were
facilitated by Focus on Youth, an 8-year-old local nonprofit that puts
cameras in the hands of low-income, high-risk youth. Focus on Youth
collaborates with professional photographers, schools and community
organizations to develop projects that engage students’ imaginations and
creativity while building their confidence and self-worth.

"In the low usage areas, we found that our vehicles sit idle four times longer, ultimately affecting overall vehicle availability for the Portland membership base, as well as parking for the Portland community."

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